Aussies abound in Australian Open qualifying

James Duckworth and Olivia Rogowska are expected to head the local men's and women's contingent when Australian Open 2015 qualifying kicks off on 14 January at Melbourne Park.

Melbourne VIC, Australia, 30 December 2014 | Matt Trollope

James Duckworth and Olivia Rogowska are expected to head the local men’s and women’s contingent when Australian Open 2015 qualifying kicks off on 14 January at Melbourne Park.

Depending on the allocation of main draw wildcards for the year’s first Grand Slam event, Duckworth, ranked 127th, will lead a large cohort of Aussie men in the 128-player field.

He is expected to be joined by John Millman (world No.156), Luke Saville (No.164), John-Patrick Smith (No.201), Matt Ebden (No.231) and Ben Mitchell (No.238).

They will be joined by 18-year-old Harry Bourchier, who has been granted a qualifying wildcard after winning the 18/u Australian Championships during the December Showdown.

Rogowska, ranked 127th, will lead the way among the Aussie women; accompanying her in the 96-player draw will be world No.185 Anastasia Rodionova and Olivia Tjandramulia, the 17-year-old Queenslander who, like Bourchier, is a wildcard entry after capturing the 18/u national girls’ title.

Tjandramulia is beginning to make the transition to the professional ranks and owns a WTA ranking of No.949.

Australian Open 2015 qualifying will be staged at Melbourne Park on 14-17 January 2015.

Entry is free and gates open at 9:30am each day; the event is also live-streamed with broadcast and commentary on ausopen.com.